Hegseth met Netanyahu in Israel before the vote, Trump's endorsement in the background
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, according to Axios. Neither the Pentagon nor Netanyahu's office confirmed the meeting.
Trump's endorsement and the election date
President Donald Trump has publicly backed Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's parliamentary elections on October 27, according to RMF24. The vote is the first since Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, RMF24 reported. Trump said that if someone else leads the Israeli government, the United States would have to fight Iran on its own, and he described Netanyahu as brave, strong and brilliant.
An unannounced visit
Axios reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who describes himself as the "secretary of war," met Netanyahu the previous day. The Pentagon declined to comment. Reuters reported that Netanyahu's office also did not respond to a request for comment.
What Hegseth said publicly
On social media, Hegseth said only that he had visited American troops serving in the area of responsibility of US Central Command, which covers the Middle East, parts of northeast Africa and parts of Asia (Pilne spotkanie Netanjahu z szefem Pentagonu. Tajemnicza wizyta tuż przed wyborami – RMF24). Israel's military radio reported that the meeting took place at an air force base in the desert.
Unanswered questions
The meeting came during a campaign period in which Trump's stance on Iran is directly tied to the question of who leads Israel. The sources available so far rely on anonymous reporting and unconfirmed accounts, so the agenda of the talks is unknown. Both governments have so far declined to give details.
Sources
- #Hegseth
- #Netanyahu
- #Israel
- #Trump
- #Elections
- #Pentagon
- #CENTCOM